Tourism officials banking on visitors from China to make a splash in the industry need to think again, an industry watcher said yesterday.
Just days after Taiwan announced plans to open its doors to up to 1,000 Chinese visitors a month beginning on Jan. 1, one critic said the nation should forget about drawing tourists from third-world countries and instead focus on attracting visitors from Japan, the US and Europe. He also said Taiwan could learn Thailand's initiatives in the sector.
"The government figures it's better to attract people from China because then they don't have to upgrade their marketing efforts, not to mention services and infrastructure," he said, under condition of anonymity.
Taiwan has been working over the past few years to build a stronger internal tourist industry with initiatives such as the Taiwan High Speed Rail, gambling on the island of Penghu and eco-tourism in Hualien and Tainan. Hualien boasts whale watching tours and Tainan is home to over half of the remaining black-faced spoonbills left in the world. Both of these tours are gaining popularity with local visitors, but have yet to draw large numbers of international visitors.
Thailand, on the other hand, remains a top destination for travelers from all over the world. The most commonly cited reason is strong marketing efforts, scenic beaches, exotic animals and natural areas and a strong service industry.
Earlier this month, the Thai government treated over 130 journalists from around Asia to a week-long "taste of Thailand." Dubbed "Thailand by invitation," the event was a well-organized marketing effort.
Instead of taking out costly advertisements on TV or in newspapers and magazines, the Thai government invited writers who would be able to spread the word in their home countries.
"We planned to invite over 350 journalists from around the world to come to Thailand, but in light of the Sept. 11 attack in the US, we decided to only bring in journalists from the Asian region," said Junnapong Saranak, director of the Thailand Tourism Division in Taipei.
Thailand still plans to invite journalists from outside Asia, but will wait until next year.
Since the Sept. 11 attack, three airlines including Swissair have gone bankrupt and tourism has plummeted 20 percent worldwide, according to the World Tourism Association. This means drawing visitors is harder than ever.
Change in plans
Even Taiwanese travelers have changed their plans in light of the tragedy.
In fact, Thailand has attracted many Malaysia-bound Taiwanese travelers because of the attacks.
"After the Sept. 11 attacks, Taiwanese travel to Malaysia slowed following a number of street protests [by Islamic groups]," said Cheng Yi-wen (鄭伊雯), an editor at World Travel Weekly (旅遊界), another Taiwanese publication.
Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim nation.
"Thailand is primarily a Buddhist country and good value. People who would have gone to Malaysia are now heading to Thailand instead," she said.
Nevertheless, many Taiwanese vacationers have complained about tour-group rip-offs in Thailand, Cheng said. One group allegedly paid for a luxury tour of Phuket and ended up housed in student dormitories without air conditioning.
By contrast, the Malaysian government carefully monitors travel agencies to maintain quality services.
Over 700,000 Taiwanese spent an estimated US$472 million in Thailand last year, according to the Thailand Tourism Division in Taipei. Before the Sept. 11 attacks, however, Taiwanese visits to Thailand had declined 2 percent for the first half of the year.
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